1. Field
The disclosed embodiments relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more specifically to audio prompting and guiding users of cellular telephones.
2. Background
Mobile cellular telephone (“cellular telephone”) use has increased dramatically in recent years. Many cellular telephones now offer a wide array of features designed to enhance their performance. For example, most cellular telephones have the ability to store telephone numbers which the cellular telephone user (“caller”) can recall by accessing the unit's “phone book” or “address book”. Another feature found widely in cellular telephones is the ability to track the cellular telephone's call history, e.g. recalling the last ten numbers called on the cellular telephone. Many cellular telephones also offer the caller a “speed dialing” option which lets the caller “dial” certain telephone numbers, for instance numbers that the caller calls most frequently, by pressing fewer keys than the seven or more required normally. In even more advanced cellular telephones having voice dialing capabilities, the caller can request connection to a particular telephone number by simply speaking the receiving party's name into the cellular telephone's microphone. When implemented properly, features such as those described above can increase the cellular telephone's usefulness.
Unfortunately, with increasingly more features, cellular telephones become accordingly more complicated to operate, resulting in many cellular telephone users not enjoying the full range of features offered by their cellular telephone. The cellular telephone user is oftentimes not even aware of all the features available. Hence, cellular telephones are now sold with a thick instruction manual to provide buyers with all the information and instructions required for optimal operation of the cellular telephones. To be able to take full advantage of the cellular telephone's many features, a cellular telephone user has to wade through the pages of the manual, read the often confusing technical language, and apply the written instructions. This task can be tedious and time-consuming and inhibits the cellular telephone user from implementing features which would make the cellular telephone more useful. Moreover, the cellular telephone user has to keep track of the manual's whereabouts in order to implement or learn about a certain feature at a later date.
Some cellular telephone manufacturers have gone beyond providing their customers with only an instructions manual and are now also providing instructions on the cellular telephone's display screen. For example, a typical cellular telephone may have certain keys which the caller can press to receive instructions on how to implement a certain feature. The instructions are then presented as text on the cellular telephone's display screen to be read by the caller. Correct implementation of the feature may involve a series of steps presented sequentially on screen after screen of text. Unfortunately, on most cellular telephones, the display screen is necessarily small to conform to the cellular telephone's compactness and is therefore not conducive to the displaying of text. The frustration of having to read screen after screen of text inhibits many cellular telephone users from taking full advantage of the features available on their cellular telephone. Thus, utilizing the cellular telephone's display screen has not proven to be an effective means by which to convey information to the cellular telephone user.
There is thus a need in the art for cellular telephones that provide users at appropriate times with instructions and information to use their cellular telephones without having to consult an instruction manual. There is also a need in the art for cellular telephones that do not require users to read all the instructions and information from the cellular telephone's display screen.